NEW YORK & BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Rohatyn Group (“TRG”), a specialized asset management firm focused on emerging markets, global investment management firm Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. LLC (“GMO”), and GMO Renewable Resources, LLC (“GMORR”), a joint venture between GMO and the GMORR principals that invests in forestry and agriculture opportunities, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby TRG will acquire the GMORR business from GMO and the GMORR principals. Under the agreement, the team from GMORR is expected to move, intact, to TRG. GMO, which currently owns 51% of the GMORR joint venture, with the GMORR principals owning 49%, will retain its investments in funds managed by GMORR.

Founded in 1997, GMORR provides investment opportunities in forestry and agriculture investing. The team, led by founder and Managing Director Eva Greger, manages sustainable investments in hardwood and softwood forests of various species, as well as direct investments in rural land, crop, and livestock assets that produce food, fiber, and energy. GMORR manages approximately $2.1 billion in rural real estate assets across eight countries and 600,000 hectares. Thirty-four percent of GMORR’s assets under management are invested in emerging markets.

Since TRG’s inception in 2002, the firm has opportunistically expanded its expertise, both organically and through strategic acquisitions, to encompass a full range of emerging markets investment strategies, including private equity and credit, real estate, infrastructure, fixed income, and hedge funds. The firm’s sophisticated, international investor base includes several of the world’s most respected sovereign wealth, pension funds, and financial institutions. The addition of GMORR will further enhance TRG’s investment capabilities and product offerings and complement its institutional investor relationships. Following the transaction, the firm will have more than $6.6 billion in total assets under management and a global footprint of 18 offices worldwide, including new offices in Boston and New Zealand.

Nicolas Rohatyn, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of TRG, said, “Timber and agriculture, both important sectors in many of the countries where TRG invests, are a natural complement to our existing knowledge base and skill set. Powerful secular dynamics, including growth of the middle class, increasing urbanization, and access to sustainable resources, underpin opportunities in emerging markets as well as forestry and agriculture. Each layer of knowledge that we add enriches TRG’s ability to deliver best-in-class returns to our LPs across asset classes and increases our relevance to a broader range of investors. We believe that GMORR is the ideal partner with whom to pursue the promising synergies between emerging markets and global timber and agriculture.”

Eva Greger, Founder and Managing Director of GMORR, said, “TRG provides a complementary platform from which to extend our long track record of forestry and agriculture investing around the world. TRG has a deep understanding of the nature and structure of long-term illiquid investments, and we look forward to leveraging TRG’s local knowledge and expertise in the countries where we currently operate, as well as select new locations, as we continue to create investment opportunities for our clients in sustainable, innovative, long-term forestry and agriculture investments.”

Jeremy Grantham, Chief Investment Strategist and co-founder of GMO, said, “GMO continues to believe strongly in the long-term merits of forestry and agriculture investing. We worked with our GMORR colleagues to identify a partner who offers a culturally-aligned organization and will best serve our clients. GMO will remain invested in GMORR funds, and we look forward to a continuing relationship as the group thrives within TRG.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to client and regulatory consents and in accordance with customary closing conditions.

About TRG
Founded in 2002, The Rohatyn Group is an emerging markets asset management firm headquartered in New York, with offices around the globe including, Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Buenos Aires, Lima, Montevideo, Mexico City, São Paulo, Mumbai and New Delhi. For more information, please visit www.rohatyngroup.com.

About GMO
Founded in 1977, GMO is a private partnership whose sole business is investment management. The firm manages global portfolios with offices and clients around the world. Investment offerings include equity, fixed income, multi-asset class, and alternative strategies. GMO is known for blended fundamental and quantitative investment research expertise and a long-term orientation toward value opportunities. For more information, please visit www.gmo.com.

About GMORR
Since its founding in 1997, GMO Renewable Resources has provided investors with opportunities to invest in timberland and related investments through a series of pooled funds and separate accounts. Historically, GMORR has also managed agricultural investments ancillary to its timberland properties as part of a strategy to optimize land use and performance. Recently, GMORR has broadened its real asset investment capability to include dedicated agricultural investing. GMORR’s seasoned team of rural land investment professionals is dedicated to the acquisition and sustainable management of globally diversified portfolios of timberland and farmland for the benefit of its clients. Employing a value-oriented approach, GMORR seeks to invest in assets at prices reflecting biological yield and productive capacity of the land and seeks to manage investments for total return over the long term. For more information, please visit www.gmorr.com.